提高托福听力的语言因素和知识因素

　　二、知识因素在语言中的运用
　　这里所说的知识包括与听力材料有关的背景知识、对话和文章的话题知识、听力的策略知识以及听力测试的命题规律等知识。
　　1、背景知识
　　对听力材料的背景知识的了解有助于听力材料的理解，而缺乏应有的背景知识常常是造成理解失败的原因。听力对话和听力短文所涉及的领域广泛，要求同学们注意积累有关文化、历史、地理、宗教、政治、风俗、生活等各方面的知识，正是Rich experiences are the facilitator of listening comprehension.
　　2、话题知识
　　无论是对话还是短文，都有其所涉及的话题，所要说明的主题，而材料中的一切又都是为了这一主题服务，表现同一主题，或同一话题又有与其同现的词汇。同学们可以通过这些词汇推测文章的话题，然后通过文章的主题，预测文章的大体内容，从而对短文进行整体的理解。同学们同样可以通过同现的词汇推测对话发生的地点，会话人之间的关系，各自的身份等。
　　（1）利用词汇的同现判断对话发生的地点以及会话人之间的关系和身份、职业等。如：
　　①
　　M: The Golden Lion sounds like a nice place to eat.
　　W: Ok, let''s go there. I hear that they have a complete menu and a warm atmosphere.
　　Q: Where are the man and the woman going?
　　A. To the beach.
　　B. To a play.
　　C. To a movie theater
　　D. To a restaurant.
　　从menu一词结合a nice place to eat，同学们便可轻松判断答案D。
　　②
　　M: How about the food I ordered? I''ve been waiting for 20 minutes.?
　　W: I''m very sorry, sir. I''ll be back with your order in a minute.
　　Q: Who is the man most probably speaking to?
　　A. A shop assistant.
　　B. A telephone operator.
　　C. A waitress
　　D. A clerk.
　　从order的使用可以判断答案为C。
　　③
　　M: Why didn''t you stop when we first signaled?
　　W: I''m sorry. Will I have to pay a fine?
　　Q: What is the probable relationship between the man and the woman?
　　A. Policeman and driver.
　　B. Policeman and thief.
　　C. Teacher and pupil.
　　D. Director and actress.
　　从signal, stop, pay a fine可以看出，说话者之间的关系为警察和司机的关系。答案为A。
　　(2) 利用话题和主题知识把握全文：
　　文章的主题一般出现在文章的首句，在听时一定要注意首句的理解，然后根据首句推测文章可能会包括的内容，在听的过程注意用来说明主题的信息，进行前后的连贯思索，就可以轻松地理解全文。事实上听力中也有对文章主题的考查。如：
　　There are many reasons why family life in Britain has changed so much in the last 50 years. The liberation of women in the early part of 20th century and social and economic effects of the World War Two had a great impact on the traditional family life. Women became essential to industry and professions. During the war, they had worked in factories and proved their worth. Now with the loss of millions of man their service was indispensable to the nation. More recently great advances in scientific knowledge, and particularly in medicine have had enormous social consequences. Children are better cared for and are far healthier. Infant death rate was low. Above all, parents now can plan the size of their family if they wish to more effective means of birth control. Different attitudes to religion, authority and tradition generally have also contributed to changes in family life. But these developments have effected all aspects of society. It is particularly interesting to know that the concept of the family as a social unit has survived all these changes.
　　Q: What is the passage mainly about?
　　A. The liberation movement of British woman.
　　B. Rapid economic development in Britain.
　　C. Changing attitudes to family life.
　　D. Reasons for changes in family life in Britain.
　　通过对短文首句的理解，可以判断答案是D。
　　3、策略知识
　　除具备以上知识以外，为了保证听力的质量，同学们，还必须了解一些策略知识，包括听力策略和听力应试策略。
　　1） 听力策略
　　听力策略是听力质量的保证。一般情况下，同学们应掌握的听力策略有：
　　（1）有目的地去听：听要有目的，是要了解大意还是具体的细节，什么细节，在听之前应该首先确定听的目的。
　　（2）听大意：听大意的方式与阅读中的览读技巧相同，要求同学们在听的时候将注意力集中在话题上，和要表达的主题上，抓主要的东西，而不是具体的细节。
　　（3）听具体信息：与"听大意"不同，该听力技巧要求同学们在听的时候只注意相关具体细节就可，如文中的具体任务，具体事件，事件发生的具体地点，时间，原因等。
　　（4）记笔记：在听的过程中，同学们有必要对重要信息做一下记录，以帮助对听力材料的记忆，也便于随后的推理和判断。
　　（5）预测：在听的过程中对下文进行预测是整体理解的保证，预测愈是准确，理解也愈是简单。?
　　2）应试策略
　　所谓应试策略指应付考试的有效手段，一般包括
　　（1）预读选项
　　预读选项指在听之前先将试题的四个选项浏览一遍。这是做好听力必备的技巧。通过分析四个选项可以对所提问的问题有个大体的了解，使听更富于目的性，带着问题去听，有助于提高注意力，将注意力集中于对话中的某一点信息，减少听的负担，解题也更加准确，快捷。如：
　　① A. Once a week B. Twice a week.C. Three times a week D. Four times a week.
　　四个选项都是表示频度，显然对话内容与做什么事，每周几次有关，带着这个问题去听，就不难找到问题的答案。请看原文：
　　M: Your son seems to have made much progress in playing the piano.Does he attend any piano classes?
　　W: Yes, he takes lessons twice a week, but from next week on, he will go to the class on Saturday evenings, too.
　　Q: How often will the woman''s son have piano lessons from next week on?
　　对话中提到一周上几次钢琴课，但以前是一周两次，从下星期周六加一次，也就是三次。由于不知道问的是以前一周几次，还是以后一周几次，在听的时候，有必要记清楚。当听到问题后，便可立即决定答案是C。
　　② A. To the beach B. To the play C. To a movie theater. D. To a restaurant.
　　四个选项明确表示要去的地方，显然问题问的应该要到什么地方去，这样，在听的时候，我们就可以把注意力集中在地点名词上，或用来说明地点的名词上。请看原文：
　　M: The Golden Lion sounds like a nice place to eat.
　　W: Ok, let''s go there. I hear that they have a complete menu and a warm atmosphere.
　　Q: Where are the man and woman going?
　　从对话中的a nice place to eat 和menu可以判断，他们是要去饭店，答案不言自明。
　　③ A. Go out to work. B. Listen carefully to John. C. Be calm and patient. D. Do the easiest thing.
　　四个选项都是祈使句，说明问题问的是会话这一方建议另一方做什么，这样考生就可以将注意力集中于表示建议的语句上。请看原文：
　　W: I''m really angry at John. He never listens to me.
　　M: Take it easy, Allen. Things will work out.
　　Q: What does the man advise Allen to do?
　　从take it easy可以判断答案是C。
　　下面请大家先预读几个问题的选项，推测文章的大概内容。
　　④
　　A. She sat back and relaxed.
　　B. She decided to retire.
　　C. She entered university.
　　D. She worked out a new English program.
　　⑤ A. 8 years B. 20 years C. 16 years D. 30 years
　　⑥
　　A. Bring a great deal of useful experience to the university.
　　B. Improve human relationship in the university.
　　C. Bring a fear of aging among young students on the campus.
　　D. Improve the reputation of the university.
　　⑦
　　A. She is learning English and Drama.
　　B. She is learning how to make sound judgements.
　　C. She is learning how to teach minority students.
　　D. She is learning to perceive, not to judge.
　　综合四道题的选项，我们猜出"她"可能是工作了多少年要退休了，后来又学习其它什么之类内容。然后带着这些问题去听，看是否是到了退休的年龄，工作了到底多长时间，是否真的退休了，之后又是做了什么，开始学习什么。有了听的目标，在听的过程中就可以将注意力集中在自己想了解的内容上，忽略不相关的信息，采用跳听的方式。请看原文：
　　After retiring from 30 years of teaching, Ethbell Pepper could easily have decided to sit back and relax and enjoy a peaceful retirement. But that kind of life is not for Ethbell Pepper. "I just wanted to do some thing different. If you are going to participate in life, do it. Don''t just sit down and look out the window." She says. At 68, she decided to become one of the pioneer participation in a program at the university of California. The program offers campus housing and classes to people over sixty. She enrolled in a class called Human Relationships and Diverse Society. " I taught minority students in my English and drama classes in high school for 20 year. But in this course, I found out a lot about other cultures I didn''t know then. One of the more important lessons that I''m learning is to perceive, not to judge." Older adults can add to the educational resources of university by bringing with them a lot of valuable experiences. Their presence on campus helps break some long beliefs of aging. Young students may have fears of growing older. But that kind of fear can be reduced as they see the older people can be active, healthy, and continue to contribute to society. The younger students can begin to see aging as a natural part of living.
　　即使不听问题，同学们也能大体判断出各题的答案了。我们来看以下问题：
　　④ What did Ethbell do when she was 68?
　　⑤ How long did Ethbell teach minority students?
　　⑥ How do elderly people do to the university?
　　⑦ What''s the most important lesson Ethbell is learning?
　　文中提到了两个时间，一个是教学30年， 一个是教少数民族学生20年，只要听时注意两个时间的区别，就可以判断⑤题答案为B。听到问题后，知道④题问的是Ethbell 68岁时，实际上也就是退休后，干什么了，答案同样很清楚应该是C。听的过程中同学们应该已经判断出有些选项与文章内容不符，听到问题后，便可以很轻松地确定⑥题答案为A，⑦题答案为D。
　　(2)记笔记
　　记笔记是一项比较重要的听力技巧，尤其是在听短文时，实际上听力中也有对记笔记的专项考题，如听写填空。因为各题的四个选项都有可能在对话中或文章中出现，记笔记有助于分清具体的细节，以免出现混淆。如：
　　Susan Anthony was born in Massachusetts in 1820 and died in Rochester, N.Y., in 1906. In the 1850s, she saw many problems in her country and wanted to do soemthing about them.
　　One of these problems was that women did not have the right to vote in the United States. Susan Anthony and many others felt that women and men should have equal rights. In 1869 she helped start the National Women''s Association. This group worked hard to get women the rights to vote in the United States.
　　In 1869, the state of Wyoming gave women the right to vote. Some other states also allowed women to have the right to vote. They worked to add this to the Constitution of the United States. Finally, in 1920, fourteen years after Susan Anthony''s death, an article was added to the Constitution. It gave all American women the right to vote.
　　12.Who among the American women had the right to vote before 1920?
　　A. The women of some states.
　　B. The women in the state of Wyoming only.
　　C. The member of the National Women''s Association.
　　D. The women in the state of Massachusetts only.
　　13.When did all women finally get the right to vote in the United States?
　　A. At the very beginning of the 20th century.
　　B. At the end of the 19th century.
　　C. After Susan Anthony''s death.
　　D. Just before Susan Anthony''s death.加入收藏
　　如果同学们在听之前预读以下选项，就可以猜出本篇听力材料中时间一定不少，在听的过程中就应该做一下笔记，记一下时间与事件之间的关系。时间弄清楚了，答案也就清楚了，12题为A，13题为C。
　　（3）整体理解
　　无论是对话还是文章都是围绕一个主题展开的，文章的一切细节都是用来说明一个主题。一般选择题的设计也都是针对文章的主题和用来说明主题的有关细节。在听的时候，考生通过预读选项了解了文章的话题范围，这样在听的之后就可以搜索与该话题有关的信息，前后联系，综合考虑，从而把握文章的主题。前后的关联，整体的把握对听力文章的理解至关重要，不能因为细节而忽略整体。要做到整体理解需要：
　　① 注意文章的首句。一般文章的主题由首句提出，然后以举例、列举、比较、对照等手段，抓住首句也就掌握了文章的主题，对文章的叙事方式也就有了预测性的了解。理解起来也就简单了许多。
　　② 抓关键词。并不是每个单词，每个句子都同样的重要，有的是论点，有的是论据，有的只表示关联，更有很多是冗余信息。因此，在听的时候，同学们要注意分清哪些是关键词汇，哪些是关键句子，将注意力集中在关键之处。
　　③ 忽略。所谓忽略，指当同学们遇到难以理解的词句时不要停，而是跳过去，继续听下文，根据上下文的关系去理解文章。